Source Of Meaning In Life Research Articles

Reflections on the Self-Fulfilling Effects of Positive Illusions

It is often joked that psychologists choose to study what they lack personally; we're relieved to say that this did not hold true for us. We are an optimistic group and started with the hunch that cold-eyed reality may not be the best thing for romantic relationships. Anecdotally, we had all been struck by people's capacity to see a dating partner's jealousy as caring, or a spouse's stubbornness as strength. On the more personal side, we were all relieved by our respective spouse's ability to tolerate our faults. On a more academic front, we had also been captivated by Brickman's (1987) writings on the sources of meaning in life and by Taylor and Brown's (1988) thoughts about the adaptive nature of hopeful distortions. Basically, Brickman (1987) argued that the experience of commitment, meaning, and value comes from people's basic motivation to reconcile the more negative with the more positive side of their experiences. In fact, he went so far as to argue that people would find little sense of meaning or value in the pursuit of unconflicted goals. Instead, from Brickman's perspective, it is precisely because of the negative aspects of our choices and endeavors that we come to see the positive value and meaning in our lives. From his perspective, we love our partners not in spite of their negative qualities-but because of these very attributes. Captivated as we were by this general theme, we were also left unconvinced by some aspects of this reasoning. For instance, Brickman (1987) believed that people rationalize their partner's faults by embellishing or exaggerating their virtues. According to this bank account model (e.g., Gottman, 1998), faults are simply overshadowed or masked by the positive rather than being somehow transformed. As a result, Brickman pointed to the perils of such idealization processes, arguing that such constructions are inherently fragile, turning love into hate when they are undone. Moreover, such pessimism about the disappointments likely to befall intimates who idealized one another echoed most popular and even psychological conceptions of love. People are invariably cautioned not to idealize one another-and instead, to strive for a realistic understanding of one another's actual qualities (see Brehm, 1988, for a review). In fact, Swann, Hixon, and De La Ronde (1992) had recently reported that people experienced less emotional intimacy in their marriage when their spouse saw them more positively than they saw themselves. In debating these ideas, we could not escape our sense that people could develop generous, idealized images of their partner without necessarily denying or masking their partner's faults. For instance, seeing a partner's stubbornness as integrity involves shifting one's construal of the behavior, not denying it. Holmes' prior work on trust also had suggested that trusting spouses organize their beliefs and expectations about their relationships in ways that link negative thoughts and memories to more positive ones (Holmes & Rempel, 1989). More generally, the zeitgeist of the University of Waterloo social psychology program emphasized the construction of social reality, and how this construction was often in the service of goals and motives. Hallways were full of discussions of social construal processes, and the flexible and creative nature of social perception (Griffin & Ross, 1991; Kunda, 1990). After all, Kunda's theory of motivated reasoning, Zanna's historical roots in dissonance (Zanna & Cooper, 1974), recent writings on commitment and adversity (Lydon & Zanna, 1990), and Ross's (1989) research on the construction of personal histories all share the common sentiment that people's goals and expectations shape how they construct and perceive their worlds. Consistent with such social constructionist leanings, Taylor (1983) argued that female patients with cancer satisfy overarching motives for self-esteem, meaning, and mastery by selectively engaging in social comparisons and by flexibly accommodating their theories about the causes of their cancer to present circumstances. In much the same way, we believed that

Sources of meaning in life for young and old Israeli Jews and Arabs

This paper presents preliminary findings generated by the Sources of Life Meaning (SLM), a special instrument compiled to measure the sources of meaning in life for two different ethnic and age groups in Israel. Respondents were 362 younger and older Arab and Jewish women and men. The results reveal the impact of ethnicity and age on most of the 10 sources of meaning, despite similarities in breadth of meaning manifested in the overall amount of meaning in life in all groups. The differences tend to vary according to age group, as more differences are apparent among the older respondents than among the younger ones. Gender impacted on only three sources of meaning, suggesting that culture and age may overshadow gender differences.

Sources of Meaning: An Investigation of Significant Commitments in Life

This study investigates, combining qualitative and quantitative research methods, the sources of meaning in life of young adult patients and nonpatients. In addition to the exploratory concerns, the current investigation tested the following three predictions: (a) Relationships are the most frequent sources of meaning in life; (b) patients are less committed to their personal meanings than nonpatients; and (c) participants’ degrees of meaning in life, as operationalized with their scores on the Life Regard Index (LRI), are related to the degree of their commitment to their personal meanings. Findings from both the phenomenal and statistical analyses strongly support the predictions and generally confirm the clinical relevance of the meaning in life construct. Notably, the interpersonal dimension appears a critically relevant domain in the established differential effects in both nonpatients-patients and females-males comparisons. Implications for clinical practice and suggestions for future research are offered.

Sources of Personal Meaning in Life for a Sample of Younger and Older Urban Australian Women

ABSTRACT This descriptive study looks at what 372 urban Australian women, aged 18–91, consider to be die most and least important sources of meaning in their lives. Using an instrument developed in Canada to study the sources of personal meaning in individuals (Sources of Meaning Profile-SOMP), the major conclusions from the Australian study were fundamentally consistent with continuity theory. While some age related differences in meaning orientations were found, there was nevertheless considerable consistency in the ratings given to the sources of meaning across the age cohorts, with only 7 of the 16 sources of meaning significantly differing on the basis of age. Participation in personal relationships and experiencing personal growth were the most important sources for the entire sample, while being acknowledged for personal achievements, leaving a legacy for the next generation, and participation in religious activities were the least important sources of meaning. When items were grouped according to hierarchical level of meaning, the greatest-and only significant—differentiation between the age groups was found in level 2–sources of meaning relating to realization of personal potential. Theoretical, policy and educational implications are briefly discussed.

Sources of Personal Meaning in a Sample of Young-Old and Old-Old Israelis

Sources of meaning in life were studied for 210 elderly Israelis, looking at the differences between the 106 old-old (mean age = 87) and 104 young-old (mean age = 71). Two sets of comparisons were made: between the old-old and young-old living in the community, and between the old-old living in the community and the old-old living in an institutional facility. The assumptions were that age would not be a differentiating factor in sources of meaning between the young-old and old-old in the community, but that meaning scores for old-old institutional dwellers would differ significantly- from those of old-old community dwellers. Using the 16-item Sources of Meaning: Profile (SOMP) the authors found that there were few significant differences between the young-old and old-old community dwellers. The findings did point to significant differences in sources and depth or strength of meaning between old-old community and institution dwellers. The findings are discussed with reference to adjustment to the instit...

Aging and Gender:

Social science literature on aging has assumed without empirical basis that women experience greater continuity in their lives than men and that this is beneficial to women in the process of aging. This research explores the issue of continuity in values over the life course and the relationship of values to a sense of meaning attributed to one's life over the life course. Thirty life history interviews of men and women over the age of sixty-nine were conducted. Differences in values were found between men and women. Men experienced less continuity of values, less continuity in sources of meaning in Life, and more dissatisfaction in the process of life review, but for most men the lack of continuity was not a source of dissatisfaction in old age.

The concept of hope revisited for nursing

The development of nursing knowledge and interventions involve understanding human responses and needs. The human response of hope was identified as a concept in need of further clarification. The purpose of this paper was to review definitions and contextual usage of the word 'hope' from the literature and answer the conceptual question 'What is hope?' Literature from theology, philosophy, psychology and nursing was reviewed for contextual usage of the word 'hope'. In the literature, hope was viewed as part of human development, a process, a theory and a source of meaning in life. In addition, antecedents, attributes and outcomes of hope were identified from the literature that contributed to a clearer understanding of the concept.

Geropsychology: meaning in life for elderhostelers.

Participants in a 1984 Elderhostel Summer Session, whose ages ranged from 60 to 84 yr., volunteered to respond to the Life Satisfaction Index from the perspective of Self and Other. This Likert-type scale had six categories, each with a description of a source of meaning in life. For all participants, a one-way analysis of variance for Self ratings across the six categories yielded a significant F ratio. All comparisons between pairs from categories rated most important—Relationships, Health, Service—and least important—Belief, Growth, Life Work—were significant. There were only chance differences, however, among paired combinations within categories rated most or least important. A one-way analysis of variance for the 26 participants who rated all categories from the perspective of Other also yielded a significant F ratio. Results corresponded with earlier reports of Other ratings: the order of categories from highest to lowest was Relationships, Health, Service, Belief, Growth, Life Work.

Geropsychology: meaning in life for adults over seventy.

Each of 25 residents in a convalescent center who had CAs ranging from 72 to 99 yr. was rated by a confidante or close relative on the Life Satisfaction Index, a Likert-type scale of six categories, each with a description of a source of meaning in life. The respondents rated Relationships as the most important category followed closely by Health; Service and Belief were given intermediate ratings; Growth and Life Work were least important. For the 20 convalescent residents who had ratings from respondents on all categories, a one-way analysis of variance for ratings across the six categories yielded a significant F ratio. Subsequent tests indicated only chance differences between Relationships and Health, but these two categories were significantly more important than all the remaining categories as sources for meaning in life. The implication for assessing fit of person and environment was noted.

Divorce for childlessness and the regulation of adultery∗

Children are obviously important to people all over the world, especially in societies lacking in such inventions as life insurance and socialized medicine. Children may serve as insurance against personal disaster in old-age or infirmity; they may be the means to build useful alliances or to acquire greater wealth; they can be entertaining; they may be a source of status or a sign of virility or fertility; children often strengthen the bond of marriage, and for many people, children may be a source of meaning in life and a palliative for distressing cognitions about death. When a married couple proves to be childless, it is usllally a great blow to them and often to many people around them. Many societies have one or more practical means of coping with childlessness. These means include divorce for childlessness, adoption, fosterage, the taking of an additional spouse, the provision of an inseminator or childbearer who substitutes for the apparently infertile spouse, and various forms of trial marriage. Goody (1969) has discussed these in the context of his analysis of adoption. The present paper attempts to extend the list of common customs that cope with childlessness by examining the hypothesis that adultery regulations may provide an alternative for coping with childlessness. Where other means of coping with childlessness are undeveloped or difficult to employ, it is hypothesized, adultery of women will be dealt with mildly; whereas where other means of coping with childlessness are well-developed and easy to employ, adultery by women is more likely to be dealt with severely. Although adultery regulations may not be consciously related by the people in a society to the problems of childlessness, childlessness is so likely to be a disaster for the couple concerned and their kin, and the presence of

Logotherapy and existential analysis--a review.

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article ArticlesNo AccessLogotherapy and Existential Analysis—A ReviewViktor E. Frankl, M.D., Ph.D.Viktor E. Frankl*Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Vienna Medical School; Head, Department of Neurology, Poliklinik Hospital. Mailing address: 1 Mariannengasse, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.Vienna, AustriaSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., Ph.D.Published Online:30 Apr 2018https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1966.20.2.252AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail PDFThis content is only available as a PDF. Access content To read the fulltext, please use one of the options below to sign in or purchase access. 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FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited byExperiences of South Korean mothers of children with medical complexity under long‐term hospitalization30 October 2022 | Nursing Open, Vol. 10, No. 3Personalized values in life as point of interaction with the world: Developmental/neurobehavioral basis and implications for psychiatry8 June 2022 | Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences Reports, Vol. 1, No. 2Psychological Flexibility, Coronavirus Anxiety, Humor and Social Media Addiction During COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey28 January 2022 | International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, Vol. 44, No. 2Recalibrating the Compass in a Changing World: Education for Meaning and Meaningful Education2 May 2022 | Journal of Constructivist Psychology, Vol. 31Existential Meaninglessness Scale: Scale Development and Psychometric Properties22 January 2022 | Journal of Humanistic PsychologyGrit and Meaning in Life of Chinese Nurses: The Chain Mediating Effect of Social Support and Hope11 November 2021 | Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 12Factor structure and psychometric properties of the purpose in life test (PIL) in a sample of Chinese college students: An application of confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory19 October 2021 | Current Psychology, Vol. 36Psychological Predictors of Professional Burnout among Priests, Religious Brothers, and Religious Sisters in Italy: The Dark Triad versus the Bright Trinity?12 June 2021 | Pastoral Psychology, Vol. 70, No. 4A Meta-Analytic Review of Interventions That Promote Meaning in Life25 February 2021 | American Journal of Health Promotion, Vol. 35, No. 6Mediating effects of general self-efficacy on the relationship between the source of meaning in life and prosocial behaviours in vocational college nursing students: A cross-sectional study15 December 2020 | PLOS ONE, Vol. 15, No. 12Positive Psychiatry Interventions in Geriatric Mental Health29 August 2020 | Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry, Vol. 7, No. 4Beliefs in Free Will Versus Determinism: Search for Meaning Mediates the Life Scheme–Depressive Symptom Link19 June 2020 | Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Vol. 15Does psychotherapy improve alexithymia? 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